Pottery Barn Lesbians
by Marissalyn
Summary: Ten years of imprisonment, nine years of falling out of love with her ex ex girlfriend, and Alex Vause really hates New York. Starting fresh in a new state sounds better than anything else that has been handed to her in a while, so why not Vermont? Piper is an up and coming artist and fighting the urge to break her girlfriend Camille's heart. Fate just might have it in for them...
1. Team Unicorn

"Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace.

I dream at night, I can only see your face.

I look around but it's you I can't replace.

I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace."

-'Every Breath You Take' by The Police

XXX

"Vause, time to go!" Bennett bellowed. Over the years he had grown more and more of a grade A-douchebag, probably because Daya moved on from him and onto Mendez as soon as she got out of prison. Alex couldn't really blame her; Mendez had a soft spot for her, and was actually pretty decent when he wanted to be. Bennett just wanted to be liked, it was nauseating, and it was even worse now that he didn't have some hot Spanish mami to keep him grounded. The more time Alex had spent trying to understand the COs, the more she pitied them. They really were some lonely fuckers.

Alex followed Bennett out of the rec room. There was nothing left for her there at Litchfield. Anyone she had ever cared for was already out, even Red was out.

"You ready to be thrown back into society?" John asked her in a blasé tone, as if he didn't really care, but knew that she would be his only conversation all day.

Alex shrugged her shoulders, not really wanting to answer him.

"You got someone on the outside?" he questioned.

Alex didn't answer. Nicky was coming to pick her up, they were moving to Vermont together, neither one of them wanting to spend another second in the state of New York.

As for Piper, Alex hadn't heard from her in over nine years. They had first kept in touch the first year that the blonde was out, but what was once three letters a week dwindled to two, and then one. Daily phone calls were soon every other day, until once a week. They soon lost all and any kind of contact to one another. It didn't surprise Alex; Piper was never really one to stick around, especially when she couldn't benefit from it.

XXX

"Ready to rock n' roll, Vause?" Nicky asked from the driver's seat of her beat up, tetanus shot inducing hunk of metal she considered a luxury. It was her baby.

Alex just assumed it was because Nicky actually bought it with her own money, and not her mother's.

She had Janis Joplin blasting through her surprisingly in good condition speakers.

"Let's just get out of here, too many fucking memories." Alex said tiredly. She never thought she would actually be able to say those words and mean them.

"You've got it." Nicky said, pulling out of park and driving away from Litchfield as fast as she could.

XXX

"Baby, come back to bed." Camille whined as she stared at her girlfriend who wasn't actually her girlfriend's bare back as she sat atop her stool and worked on her canvas.

"Cami, you know I have to work on this. The new collection's opening in two days." Piper said around a spare paint brush that she had stuck between her teeth.

"I thought you were going to paint me." Camille said.

Piper shook her head, slowly losing her patience with her fuck buddy.

"I don't paint anybody, you know that."

"You sure love to paint that green eyed woman. Who is she, Pipes?"

The shorter blonde cringed at the old nickname. She _hated _when Cami called her that.

"It's Piper, and we aren't going to discuss that right now, it's the middle of the night."

"Exactly why you should be in bed with me."

Piper ignored her, already off in her own world. She never slept when someone shared her bed. She rarely let them touch her unless she was feeling particularly weak.

Camille sighed heavily, giving up and rolling over to face the opposite wall that didn't hold her heart. "You never want to talk about it."

XXX

"Nicky, this is _nice_!"

"Well don't act so surprised, asshole!" the red head said, smacking Alex's shoulder because she couldn't reach her head.

Alex chuckled as she walked further into the house. "Seriously though Nichols how did you get this place?"

Nicky flopped onto the couch, folding her arms behind her head. "I may have dipped into my mother's savings."

Alex nodded, "Figured."

"What? After all that bitch hasn't done for me, at least she can pay for the roof over my fucking head."

"Just _your_ head?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, did I mention, you got the dog house out back?"

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Fuck you, I'll find my room myself. It can't be that hard, it's the one without all of the Morello memorabilia."

"Too soon!" Nicky shouted from where she still lay in the living room.

"It's been five years, Nick, time to move on!"

"I'll move on as soon as you do!"

XXX

"Girl, you need to drop her." Jaimie said as she wiped the counter down.

Piper sighed, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. "But she's _so_ hot."

Jaimie smirked, "Yeah, too hot for you, you're ice cold."

Piper winked at her, "Jaimie, why won't you just marry me already? You know too much to be able to talk to my flings."

"You only want me because I don't bat for your team."

"Hey, the Unicorns are amazing okay? We just go for hot people!"

Jaimie rolled her eyes, "Prison has _changed_ you."

A cloud passed over the blonde's eyes before she shook it off, "You wouldn't know, you didn't meet me until I moved here nine years ago."

"Yeah, and when you first got here you wouldn't admit that you were bi."

"Hey, I only shit rainbows on a good day, it's usually just glitter. Being bisexual has changed me for the better."

"I'm still trying to figure out who turned you into Frosty."

Piper shrugged, "And you'll continue to, because they're dead to me."

Jaimie brushed off the hostility, moving to wipe her hands on her apron. "You really do melt when it gets hot."

Piper grabbed a pastry off of the plate that Jaimie had set out for customers and hopped off of her stool, heading towards the door. "You have my heart, now; I need to go finish that canvas."

"Break up with the poor girl!" Jaimie called out after her.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Not dating her!"

"Then stop fucking her!"

"Try telling that to her!" Piper said, holding the pastry between her teeth as she made her hands into a 'v' and hit her hips.

"Get your ass home and finish that painting!" Jaimie said, turning her back on Piper and starting a fresh brew of coffee.

XXX

"Shut it Vause, trust me, this is as good as coffee gets around here!" Nicky said as she held the door open for her.

Alex walked through into a small coffee shop, nearly beginning to drool from how good it smelled in there. It was as if they were at a coffee manufacturer.

There was an olive skinned girl sitting behind the counter, flipping through a magazine with her feet up on the chair in front of her. Her chestnut hair was tied up in a messy pony tail, her uniform consisted of a loose fitting tank top tucked into an apron that you would normally see a waitress wearing, tied around her waist.

She looked up, "Can I help you?" she asked, her voice held a sultry tone to it.

Nicky waltzed up to the counter, "Hey Jaimie, I'll just have the usual and this mutt over here will have it black."

Jaimie nodded, turning to pour the coffee.

"It smells great in here." Alex complimented the girl's back.

"Thanks, I make the blends myself." Jaimie said, turning back to set the coffees on the counter. "$5.50." she said to Nicky.

The red head handed over the money before picking up her cup and took a large sip from it.

"So Jaimie, is there anything going on this week? I'm trying to get Alex over here out and about, you know find someone to get under so she can get over someone else."

Jaimie looked Alex up and down, deciding on if she was the right choice for her friend. "There's an art opening tomorrow night, my friend is the featured artist."

Nicky looked over at Alex, "You like that shit, Vause."

Alex squinted at her, hating to be singled out.

"Well here's a flyer." Jaimie said, handing Nicky the bright yellow paper that sat in a pile next to the cash register.

Nicky thanked her, and then followed Alex out of the shop.

"So, who's the featured artist?" the brunette asked casually, she probably didn't know the name, but she was once an art enthusiast back in the day…

XXX

"Al, where are we going?" Piper asked as she allowed Alex to pull her along the sidewalks of New York City.

_ "It's a surprise!" _

_ They stopped in front of a dark building that was blacked out due to it being so late._

_ "Alex, what are we doing?"_

_ Alex turned around to look at her beautiful girlfriend, who was still sporting her tan from when they were in Cambodia. "I know that you studied art while in college, and I just thought that since you've given me so much by just being with me, I thought I could start paying you back."_

_ Piper's facial expression softened from confusion to pure love. "Al, you don't have to pay me back, just knowing that you are beside me when I wake up in the morning is enough."_

_ Alex frowned, "But sometimes I'm not there when you wake up, and I hate it. So this is the beginning of me trying to make it up to you." She pulled a key out of her pocket._

_ "What's that?" Piper asked impatiently, like a child._

_ The brunette grinned widely, "It's a key."_

_ "Well thank you Captain, I can clearly see that it's a key, but a key to what?"_

_ Alex shook her head, "It's a surprise."_

_ She unlocked the door to the building before pulling the blonde in with her, locking it behind them. _

_ They took the stairs two at a time, wanting to meet their destination faster._

_ Once they reached the door in question that the mysterious key belonged to, Alex looked over at Piper, smiling, before pushing the delicately cut piece of metal into the lock, turning it and opening the door._

_ Flicking the lights on, Alex heard a gasp behind her, signifying that Piper had finally figured out where they were._

_ "No way!" Piper shouted in complete awe. _

_ Alex smirked, shutting the door and turning back to watch her girlfriend as she inspected every clean countertop and freshly bought art supplies._

_ "This is fucking incredible!" Piper continued. _

_ "You're fucking incredible." Alex said, walking further into the room to stand behind the blonde who was still facing away from her._

_ "Seriously Al, you bought me an art studio, in fucking New York City!"_

_ Alex shrugged, "It was nothing compared to what you give me every day."_

_ Piper turned back to her girlfriend, a mischievous smirk on her lips, "Oh we are so christening this place, right now." She said, practically falling into the taller woman's arms, sighing against her full lips as they met in a sweet collision, beginning a dance that they were all too familiar with._

XXX

Nicky looked down at the flyer, quickly scanning the paper for a name. Her eyes widened, "Ah fuck."

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

"You're never going to believe this."

"Nicky, what the fuck are you talking about?" Alex asked, slightly alarmed in the tone her friend had taken on.

"It's fucking Chapman."

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! This is the second story I will be working on for NanoWrimo. I hope you liked it. Leave a review telling me your thoughts so far, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Until next time!**

**-Marissa**


	2. Free of You

"What I really meant to say

Is I'm sorry for the way I am

I never meant to be so cold

To you I'm sorry about all the lies

Maybe in a different light

You could see me stand on my own again

Cause now i can see

You were the antidote that got me by

Something strong like a drug that got me high."

-'Cold' by Crossfade

XXX

"So I think I fixed your problem." Jaimie said as soon as she saw the blonde enter her shop.

Piper raised a brow, she wasn't aware that she had a specific problem that she needed fixing. "And what would that be exactly?"

Jaimie sat smug behind the counter, "Your lady problem, I fixed it. You can now drop that sad model, because I found you someone I think you'll like even better."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Ex model."

"Whatever, this girl is _way _hotter."

Piper sat down on her favored stool, "I'm listening."

"Well I know you got a thing for height, even though you are tall enough already."

Piper reached for a pastry and bit into it, "Go on."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, it's gross."

"That's not what they say, ladies_ love_ the vibration."

Jaimie screwed up her face, "You're disgusting. Anyways, she's super tall, taller than Camille, and has a killer body. Green eyes I think, might've been blue, couldn't see behind her glasses."

Piper nearly choked on her pastry, eyes widening she asked, "What color was her hair?"

"Black, I think her name was Alex."

Piper wobbled on her stool, it couldn't be. Alex was in Litchfield. Wait, how many years had it been? Piper thought for a moment before coming to the conclusion that her ex ex-girlfriend was out of prison, and she was in town.

She let her pastry drop onto the counter and hastily stood, "I have to go."

"Wait, Piper!" Jaimie called after her. She didn't get the chance to tell her that she had invited this Alex person to her art opening that night.

XXX

"Camille, we're going to be late!" Piper shouted up the stairs. She was five seconds away from leaving her ass at the house.

Camille had decided she wanted to come over and have pre-celebratory sex, and who was Piper to say no? Of course it was only the taller blonde though who had a good time, Piper just felt like it was becoming a job at this point.

"Camille!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Cami said, entering Piper's view from the stairs' landing. Piper was used to her fuck buddy's beauty. She was hot, but you got used to it.

Piper didn't bother to compliment her, turning on her heel and grabbing her bag off of the banister.

They climbed into her beat up jeep in their fancy dresses, and set off towards the art showing.

XXX

Alex and Nicky entered the museum together.

Nicky kept looking over at Alex, trying to decipher her facial expression.

Alex at first didn't want to go, but Nicky convinced her that if she saw Piper, then she would be able to realize that she had moved on just like she needed to.

The building was bursting with life, people from surrounding cities and states came to see the art produced by Piper Chapman's hand.

"This place is fucking packed!" Nicky said, trying to get Alex to slip out of the stone cold mask that she had on.

They followed the queue of people into the main show room, taking in the various canvases that hung on the walls. People stood around in a cluster near one of the paintings.

As they walked closer, they could hear a familiar voice. Someone in front of them shifted on their feet, making the person that they were all crowded around come into view.

Alex's jaw dropped.

Piper stood in a floor length burgundy maxi dress, her hair curled and clipped up in the back, leaving small tendrils out to frame her face. Her lips were a dark shade of red, something Alex hadn't seen in over two decades.

Nicky turned to look at the brunette, not knowing what to do. Should she make a joke and diffuse the situation that was currently taking place, or just let it play out? She grabbed Alex's arm, pulling her away from the crowd, "You've seen her Vause, if you want to talk to her, you should probably wait until she's alone."

XXX

"Piper, everything looks so amazing!"

"Not now, Cami." Piper said tiredly, the showing was almost over and she was more than exhausted. People kept coming up to her, which was great, but she soon lost interest in what they were all saying and the fact that she had to keep repeating her answer to every person who asked the same question, who was the woman in all of the paintings, was getting her a little more than irritated.

"What do you mean not now? Piper, you never want to talk anymore."

"This is _so_ not the place, Camille." Piper said through clenched teeth.

The taller blonde waved her hands about the room, "Really, because I thought this was the perfect time to bring up how you only want to fuck me. What if I wanted more Piper, what if I actually _love_ you?"

Piper could feel her anger beginning to flare up, "We'll talk about this later."

"That's what you always say, 'we'll talk later', 'I don't want to talk about it right now', 'it's too late to talk about this right now'. When is it ever going to be the right time to talk?"

"Are you trying to ruin my career right now? Do you have any idea how this argument can be perceived, it's completely unprofessional!" Piper hissed.

Camille shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. "Why, because I know nothing about professionalism right, because I'm some washed up model that nobody wants to take pictures of anymore?!"

Piper threw her hands up in aggravation, "This has nothing to do with your job or whatever the _fuck_ you want to twist this into! Camille, we were _never_ going to be anything more than what we are right now! I don't love you; I don't love _anyone_ because I can't! You _knew_ what you were getting into the night we met; I _never_ lied to you about that."

Cami stood stock still, frozen to the spot. She didn't know what to say.

"Now, I need to get back to working and actually look like I give a shit about all of these paintings. So if you can't handle me not paying attention to you for the rest of this event, find another way home." Piper said icily.

Camille burst into tears, "I never would've thought that you could be so cold! You used to be so passionate about what you did with your paint."

Piper laughed darkly, not caring that people were starting to stare. "I was never passionate about these paintings. I haven't been passionate about anything in over a decade, because _I_ fucked up! I fucked up over and _over_ again, because that's all I can do; it's all I am capable of! I've ruined everything that has ever been good for me; it's all gone because I was too scared to worry about anyone that wasn't me."

Camille shook her head, "You are a lost cause Piper because that's all you allow yourself to be. I thought I could help you see that, but I'm _done_."

Piper turned away from her, not letting herself watch the taller woman walk away from her. She was never good when people left her, when people gave up on her. She always had to be liked, be wanted. Piper was never satisfied with just making herself happy; she always needed someone else to do that for her.

XXX

Alex watched the fight unfold in front of her.

"Whoa, looks like the ice princess hasn't changed at all." Nicky said.

They had heard the entire thing; Piper was never quiet when she thought she was.

"I should go talk to her." Alex said suddenly as she watched Piper press her face into her hands and shake her head.

Nicky looked up at the brunette, eyebrow cocked, "You sure that that's a good idea, Vause? Do you really think it would do her any good to see you right now, right after that fucking shit show?"

Alex sighed, not knowing what to do.

"You were the one always comforting her, Vause. Maybe you should make her work for it this time."

The taller woman looked down at the red head, "In order for her to have to work for it, wouldn't she have to know that I'm here?"

Nicky shrugged, "It's up to you man, just don't fuck her alright?"

"Like this?"

"You never know, I'll see you back at home." Nicky said, leaving the museum.

XXX

"So that was probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen."

Piper jumped from the all too familiar voice, turning to make sure she wasn't losing it, she came face to face with the once love of her life, the one that risked it all for her and she did nothing to prove herself to in return.

"Is this your way of getting back at me, rub it in that I'm not as good as the inevitable Alex Vause?"

Alex shrugged, looking around the room at all the paintings, "I can't help but find these paintings a little familiar."

Piper rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest, "Don't act coy, if you want to call me out on my clear obsession, do it. I'm a big girl now, I can handle it."

Alex raised a brow, ignoring what she had just said, "You look beautiful, Pipes."

"Oh yeah, 43 and going grey at the roots, definitely a sight for sore eyes."

Alex shook her head in amusement, "Fine, you look like shit. Your mascara is running and you look like you've lost too much weight, not to mention you just scared yet another person that loved you away."

"You heard that?"

"Along with everyone else in the vicinity."

Piper sighed, looking around the room. It was nearly empty now.

"Look, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"No you didn't, you wanted to prove to me that you are still in my life, whether I like it or not." Piper bit out.

"See, that's the thing Pipes, you always made me out to be the enemy, and sure I may I have fucked up by importing drugs, but you lost me, your fiancé, whoever that poor girl was, and something tells me you haven't spoken to your parents in years."

"They practically wrote me off when I moved here."

"Did they really write you off, or did you do the writing for them?"

"Don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Act like you know me, you haven't seen me in nine years, you don't know anything about me anymore." Piper said.

"And whose fault is that? I didn't say goodbye Piper, you left, and I didn't even get a fucking 'see ya never'. You had me thrown back in prison just for you to stay long enough to make me think that you changed, that you _actually_ loved me. Then a year without closeness, without touch, it became too much for you, you didn't like that I depended on you to keep me sane while I was stuck in that hell hole _because _of you!" Alex was shouting now, she was fucking livid.

"You don't get to make me look like the bad guy Piper. I may not know how you feel when you wake up in the morning, or what you had for breakfast, or who you talk to so that you don't fall into the pit of self-pity entirely, but I _do_ know you. I know that your feet are always warm, that you can't lay down in bed unless all of the lights are off in the rest of the house, I know how you take your tea and your coffee, and I know what kind of toast you prefer when you go out to a diner." Alex angrily wiped at her eyes.

"I know what your first thought is when going into a movie theater, and I know that you can't stand the fact that I'm standing here right now, able to live without you, but I guess that would be your next question, why am I here if I can live without you. The truth is I can but I don't want to. I hate the fact that you left me, and I can't stand the fucking fact that you've been fucking that model for god knows how long, and the thing I hate most is that I can't get the fuck away from you! I thought I was starting anew by coming here."

Piper listened to all of this with a heavy heart, and tears trailing down her cheeks.

Alex looked away, "Believe me, there's nothing I wanted more than to be rid of you forever."

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! I am so sorry, and before all of you yell at me, I cried too okay? Haha, you know it's bad when the writer can't hold back their tears. So anyways, let me know what you thought, and leave me a review whether you are team Alex or team Piper. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I will see you in the next. Until then!**

**-Marissa**


	3. Change

"See the stone set in your eyes

See the thorn twist in your side

I'll wait for you

Sleight of hand and twist of fate

On a bed of nails she makes me wait

And I wait without you."

-'With or Without You' by U2

XXX

"Wait, so let me get this straight, you told her that you never wanted to see her again?" Nicky asked, her voice showing signs of clear amusement.

"Yeah, and?" Alex asked, her voice holding no interest in the conversation at hand.

Nicky shrugged, going back to her newspaper, "Nothing, I just thought you would play role of Fido and trail after her like a lost puppy."

Alex set her coffee cup down on the counter, "Yeah, well that's over now, and will you stop comparing me to a dog?"

Nicky chuckled.

"I'm tired of being the one that has to fix things between us. I'm the one that puts my entire self out on the line every time. I'm done doing that. She's hurt me twice now, and I'm not Russian, so if she wants me back, she's going to have to get off of her ass and come to me."

The red head nodded, "Got to say Vause, I don't think I've ever been so proud of you."

"Yeah, well if making people proud of me causes the pain that I'm currently feeling, I'd rather be hated."

XXX

"Wait, so let's get this straight, your ex, the one that turned you into every child's favorite snowman, the Alex I met the other day, they're all the same person?" Jaimie asked.

Piper held her head in her hands, "Yes, now can we please get to the part where Camille completely blew everything out of proportion last night?"

"Fuck her; I want to know more about Alex. What makes her so special that you can't get over her?"

Piper shrugged, looking up at her friend. "She's just Alex. She's never been anything but Alex."

She ran her finger around the rim of her mug. "She's always been volatile, or maybe that was me. I never knew what I was going to get with her. One moment she was the sweetest person I had ever gotten the pleasure of sharing a bed with, and the next minute she was all business and wouldn't even look in my direction."

Jaimie listened, going about the shop to set it up for the day, taking the chairs down from where they all sat upside down on the tables.

"She was the kind of person you never had enough time to look at; she was gone before you could even feel near satisfied. It was just as if everything slowed down when she entered a room, and she knew it too."

"And so that's why you guys didn't work, you were both too into yourselves to find time for the other?"

Piper rolled her eyes, "Very funny."

There was a moment of silence before the blonde continued.

"It was my fault we never worked out. The first time I left, it was the right thing to do. Alex would have never fixed herself if I hadn't, and we probably still wouldn't have ended up together. If anything, we were both too selfish. She wanted me to love her _for_ her, and I wanted her to love me and only me, but she was married to her work. I couldn't handle not coming first."

"And the second time?" Jaimie asked.

Piper sighed heavily; the second time leaving Alex was still to this day, the biggest mistake she had ever made. She still had nightmares about it.

"The second time I left Alex was the worst thing I have ever done to a person. I hurt her, again. I put her back in prison because I couldn't handle being alone. I betrayed her in the worst way possible, it was worse than her naming me. She was never going to leave me, she was just going away for a while and she was going to come back for me. She promised me a forever, and I couldn't even utter an 'I love you'. I was so fucking selfish, instead I just lied to her and she saw right through it. But the fact that I still can't admit to myself that I'm not over her is what's ridiculous, because there is no getting over Alex Vause, at least not for me."

Jaimie had never heard anything so sad in her life. "So what happened after she was sent back to prison?"

Piper shook her head, frowning as she wiped away fresh tears that were streaking down her cheeks. "She wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't even look at me. It was as if I wasn't even there, didn't even exist to her. I had to win her trust back, I had to tell her countless times that I still loved her before she could even say she liked me, but the thing is there was never anything about me to like. She could only love me because she couldn't like the broken pieces; only love them all as a whole. I didn't blame her for it, there still are parts of me that want to run, want to hide and lie and say things that I don't mean to make her hate me."

She pushed away her coffee and slid off of her stool. "It was always easier for her to hate me, because what I couldn't even fathom was her depending on me. I had depended on her for so long, that when the roles had reversed, when she would ask me what the sky looked like at night before I went to sleep, and when I woke up. It overwhelmed me, because I couldn't relate it to touch, or physical attraction of any kind. Alex was in love with my heart, she was in love with everything that made me up as a human being, and I couldn't even begin to understand why."

"Do you really think you're _that_ bad, Piper?" Jaimie asked, slightly alarmed by the blonde's self-loathing.

Piper shrugged, "Sometimes I find it easier to pick out the bad than try and create the good."

XXX

"Vause, you need to move your feet, I have to vacuum." Nicky complained.

Alex looked at her as if her hair was on fire, "You, vacuum?"

"Just fucking move would you?"

"Fuck you, go around me!"

"Why don't you stop being a pain in my ass and go out for a while? Get some fresh air before you die."

Alex rolled her eyes, standing up from the couch, "Fine, I'll just go get some coffee."

"Bring me back some?"

"You can't vacuum and drink at the same time, you might spill."

XXX

The bell on the door clanged, letting Jaimie know that there was a customer.

"Good morning!" She said from behind her magazine, not bothering to look up, it was most likely Joe who worked in the garage down the street.

"Hey, what's your strongest blend?"

Jaimie looked up from her light reading and gaped, it was her! Alex! Piper's Alex!

"Well, 'Black Cat' is probably the strongest; I usually pair it with milk or chestnut syrup."

"That'll be great, thanks."

Jaimie started to make the drink, moving about the counter as she set up a pot to brew in.

"Wait, so you brew each blend freshly as people ask for it?" Alex asked, stunned.

Jaimie nodded, "If the person is willing to wait, and something tells me you've got nowhere to go."

Alex sat at the stool that was still pulled up at the counter, not thinking much of it. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.

Jaimie turned back around to face her, hesitating slightly when she noticed the seat she had taken to wait for her coffee. "Well this is a small town, not much places to go to unless you're a fan of circles."

Alex nodded slowly, "I thought I would be okay with having the same thing all the time, but I guess I didn't realize how much I depend on change. It's like, the more I think about it, the anticipation of something, the build-up. It's the best part of anything, the rush of getting caught, or the feeling of not knowing what happens next."

Jaimie listened, she was very curious as to how this Alex girl thought.

"I always told myself that I would never settle down and try to make myself into what everyone else wanted me to be, and I guess that's what I'm still doing. It's just different. I made the decision to come here, I chose to move in with my best friend and learn to live my life again. After a decade of being closed off from everything, it's going to take a while to get used to new people and the fact that you can be judged for something good you did, like you are no longer just decided as this horrible person that broke the law."

Alex continued her thought process before realizing what she was doing. "I'm sorry; I totally just dumped all of my problems onto you."

Jaimie shook her head as she made Alex's coffee, "Don't worry about it. It gets boring around here, not many people younger than fifty, so if you ever need to just let off some steam, I'll be here."

Alex nodded, knowing that she wasn't going to take the offer. It wasn't anyone else's job but her own to figure her shit out.

Jaimie watched as Alex headed for the door before calling out to her, "Hey, if you want, we could go out for some drinks tonight?"

Alex knew this girl was straight, everything about her screamed hetero, but maybe she was curious? Or maybe she really just wanted to get a drink.

"Where do you go for drinks around here?" the brunette asked.

Jaimie smiled, "Blick's. It's right off of Matthews road, let's say we'll meet there around six?"

Alex nodded, not a date. Any date usually started around eight. "Sure, I'll see you then, Jaimie right?"

Jaimie nodded, "Yes, and you're Alex?"

Alex nodded, holding her coffee up in thanks before leaving the little shop. Maybe she'll see if there's a record or book store in this town.

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't put another installment of Control up yet, I'm just really digging this story at the moment. Let me know what you thought of this chapter as we are slowly starting to have the story of what happened nine years ago unveiled. Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, Team Alex all the way! I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Until next time!**

** -Marissa**


	4. Rules of Drinking

"I just want back in your head

I just want back in your head

I'm not unfaithful

But I'll stray

When I get a little scared."

-'Back in Your Head' by Tegan and Sarah

XXX

"You got a date, Vause?" Nicky asked when she saw Alex changing into a clean shirt and jeans.

Alex shrugged, "No, I made a new friend today." She smirked.

Nicky grinned, "That's my girl, I was worried that you were going to become a recluse or some shit. Now you have someone to eat glue with!"

Alex rolled her eyes, "You mean _you_ now have a reason to eat glue."

"Fuck you, and don't fuck this person either, don't need to do what we did."

The brunette walked past the red head, slipping on her boots as she hopped from foot to foot. "Talk about a mistake."

"Hey! I was good!" Nicky said defensively.

Alex stood up, patting Nicky's cheek, "Course you were, it just wasn't for me."

"Get out of here, and don't get hit by a car on your way back!"

XXX

"Piper, come on! It'll be fun!" Jaimie said from outside of the blonde's bedroom door.

"I don't want to go drinking Jaimie; I'll just end up getting drunk!"

"Sounds like a good time to me."

"No, because I'm miserable, you don't want a miserable drunk on your hands."

The brunette rolled her eyes, banging on the door again, "I'm going to come in if you don't get out here! You need this; you need to get away from your paints!"

Piper sighed heavily, ripping open the door.

Jaimie looked her friend up and down; Piper was in panties and a camisole. "Get dressed."

Piper huffed, walking back into her room and began looking for clothes that didn't have paint on them.

"Piper, we're just going to Blick's. You can wear your tevas and overalls for all anyone cares."

"Hey, leave my fashion choices alone!"

XXX

Alex entered the bar with ease. The smoky tobacco filled atmosphere all too familiar from her past.

She looked around the room, up at the dim fluorescent lights that had definitely seen better days. Over at the old booths that were practically ripped at the seams and where the faux leather was worn from one too many Levi clad asses.

The table tops looked like they had been a casualty in the war against cheap kitchen cutlery and alcohol of every proof that was used to make harsh memories suddenly duller, and regret now nothing more than a fleeting thought.

Alex found a seat at the bar, Jaimie nowhere in sight.

"What can I get you?" A man behind the bar asked. He was a hulking man with a balding head.

Alex looked up into his tired eyes, clearly hardened from nightmares of his own.

"Scotch on the rocks would be great." She said.

The man nodded, saying nothing more as he made the drink right in front of her.

She sighed, looking down at her phone. 6:30pm. Maybe this was a mistake.

"On the house." He muttered as he set the old tumbler down on a yellowed napkin and slid it over to her.

"Wait, why?" she asked.

"Looks like you could use a drink that isn't an obligation." He merely said as he walked back down to the other side of the bar.

Alex shrugged, nodding her head. The man was right, she _did _deserve a drink. She should probably pace herself though; she hadn't tasted hard liquor in over a decade.

XXX

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Jaimie said as she took the stool beside Alex at the bar.

Piper was still fucking around outside of the bar.

"S'okay." Alex said, a drunken lisp already taken to her even huskier voice.

Jaimie let out a nervous breath, this could only go one of two ways once Piper came through that door, and with Alex well on her way to drunk from only two drinks, Jaimie wasn't so sure.

Piper entered the bar with an uneasiness simmering in the pit of her stomach, which was ridiculous because she had been inside Blick's hundreds of times before.

She looked around for Jaimie, finding her talking to some brunette. Piper watched as said girl finished off her drink, and the way she threw her head back looked all too familiar to her. "You've got to be _fucking_ kidding me."

Jaimie looked up at the sound of her friend's voice.

"You _did not_ just try and set me up with the one woman that can break me."

Alex looked up through glassy eyes, her glasses slipping down her nose as she tried to push them up and missed entirely.

Piper rolled her eyes, looking away from her highly intoxicated ex and back over at Jaimie who awkwardly smiled.

Piper already was tense, but now if coal was to be shoved up her ass, it would most likely turn into a diamond. "What did you think was going to happen? That we would fall back in love over booze enthused rambling?"

"Pipes, don't blame Jamsie." Alex slurred.

Piper shook her head, watching out of the corner of her eye as Alex stumbled off of her stool, trying to stand.

"Sit down, Alex." Piper instructed, trying to sound detached from the whole situation. She looked over at the bar tender who was making a drink for a bar regular. "Bear, I need tequila!"

XXX

"So she just left, not a goodbye, not a nothing!" Alex whined.

Jaimie was listening through half shut eyes, falling asleep right at the bar.

"Alex, we aren't going to talk about this while you're hammered!" Piper said as she downed her third and final shot of the night. "Let's go, I'll take you home. We both could use the walk anyways."

"Nicky's asleep though, I don't want to wake her."

"Don't you have a key?"

"I left it at home."

"Why?"

"I didn't think I was gonna be out this late, it wasn't a date."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Not everyone wants to date you."

"No, but they want to _fuck _me." Alex said, a cheesy grin cracking through her drunken composure.

Piper huffed. Alex had always been equal parts insufferable and inevitable. "I guess we'll have to go to my house then."

XXX

"At least you followed the rule." Piper said as she got Alex settled into her bed.

"Liquor before beer, you're in the clear, beer before liquor, even sicker." Alex recited; it was something her mother had taught her, and she had taught the blonde when they first met nearly twenty years ago.

Piper nodded, tucking the taller girl into the bed before heading for the door. She was going to get reacquainted with her couch tonight.

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! Not much happened in this chapter, sorry. I know it's been a couple days, and I have yet to update Control, but I'm currently going through some things and I need you all to bear with me. I'll try and update as often as I can, but I need to focus on myself right now, and stressing out about updating my fics shouldn't be at the front of my mind, plus my writing is shit (as shown above) when I'm in a bad mood. I'm sorry guys, I don't know if I'll be updating soon, or a month from now, but I'm not ditching these stories, I just need some time to refocus on some things. I hope you guys understand, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and reading this story. I'll see you hopefully soon, love you guys! Until next time!**

**-Marissa**


	5. Draw Me, French Girl

"I hate the world today

You're so good to me

I know but I can't change

Tried to tell you

But you look at me like maybe

I'm an angel underneath

Innocent and sweet

Yesterday I cried

Must have been relieved to see

The softer side

I can understand how you'd be so confused

I don't envy you

I'm a little bit of everything

All rolled into one."

-'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks

XXX

Piper woke to the sound of something falling over in the next room over, followed by a muffled, _"Fuck!"_

The blonde could only shake her head back and forth, the grogginess of the night before fogging her brain. She could remember coming home with someone, helping them into her bed, and then passing out on the couch. Piper didn't have that much to drink the night before, but she had always been a lightweight, especially when it came to tequila.

She leaned up on an elbow, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she heard the door to her bedroom open and the sound of bare feet padding down the hallway.

Whoever this person was, they were trying to make their walk of shame go unnoticed.

Piper waited a moment longer, now resting her chin in her hand as she leaned against the back of her couch. Her eyes widened when the person came into view. Alex.

Alex froze when she saw that Piper was awake, she herself wasn't entirely sure whose bed she had been sleeping in, that was until she opened the underwear drawer in the dresser. She wouldn't have recognized any of the undergarments, but she did recognize the picture frame that was tucked beneath them. You could always find out the most about someone by their underwear drawer, and this drawer in particular held a single picture from over twenty years ago.

"Piper."

"Alex."

It was as if time was put on hold, paused during the big movie moment as the long lost lovers' eyes met for the first time since the last.

Alex looked at Piper. At the smeared make up around her blue eyes, at the blonde hair that somehow managed to stay in a messy bun, and finally at the look on her face when she saw her.

Piper looked like she had seen a ghost, like she was staring at her biggest fear, her most terrifying nightmare. Instead of the person that she had once been so in love with, the person that she would have died for.

"I should go." Alex said, pointing towards the door, yet she made no move to go. She was waiting for Piper to tell her to stay, to tell her no, or to even just say something instead of just staring at her like she was the biggest mistake she had ever made, which she just might well have been.

Piper swallowed, nodding slowly. What was she going to say? It had been nine years since she had last seen Alex, and the woman still looked like the person she had fallen in love with. Even after a night of heavy drinking, the brunette still looked more than beautiful.

Alex waited a moment longer, watching as the blonde went to war with herself, before getting the message and continued on her way to the door.

_'Wait.'_ Piper wanted to say, _'Don't go.'_

Instead she watched Alex leave her house, shoes in hand like a teenager. Piper could never picture Alex as a teen. Moody yes, rebellious absolutely, but for Piper, Alex's age rested at 26 just as it did the day she met her.

The door closed with a resounding click as Piper sighed heavily and flopped back onto the couch. She wouldn't dare go lay in her bed, it would smell too much like Alex.

XXX

"I thought I told you not to fuck the girl." Nicky said when she saw Alex come through the front door.

Alex rolled her eyes, "I didn't fuck Jaimie. I didn't fuck anyone."

"Then where were you last night?"

"None of your fucking business, _Mom_."

Nicky shook her head, "Do you kiss girl's nether lips with that mouth?"

Alex shuddered, "You _did not_ just say that."

"You bet your sweet ass I did."

Alex turned around to face the red head who was sitting on the couch, "You know what, maybe I _did _sleep with someone last night, maybe I didn't, either way I'm going to bed and if you make one loud noise, it'll be _your_ sweet ass hanging over the fireplace."

Nicky chuckled, "Meow to you too, _Princess_."

XXX

"I can't believe I did that." Piper said, staring up at the ceiling in her bedroom. She had caved, she was laying in her bed, and _fuck_ if it didn't smell like Alex had been sleeping in it for years instead of one night.

"You just need to calm down, Piper. You were hung-over, she was hung-over, and from the sound of it last night you both have fucked up so much it's no surprise you let her walk out again." Jaimie's voice came through on the phone.

"Jaimie, I didn't call you to point out what I already know."

"I just think you should stop wallowing in your self-pity and go get her you stupid fuck. You've _both_ fucked up, you've _both_ done shitty things, and you _both_ need to get your heads out of your own asses."

"It's not that simple though." Piper mumbled. Alex may have fucked up, but at least she had admitted to fucking up. Piper had too much pride.

"But isn't it?"

"No." Piper said, shaking her head. It wasn't that simple because even if she wanted to try and get Alex back, how many times was the brunette going to take her back? Alex may have loved her still, but would she really risk her heart for a third time?

Piper soon after that hung up with Jaimie, rolling over to press her face into her pillow, smelling the all too familiar smell that was all Alex. She sighed, rolling back over to lie on her back, staring over at the empty easel that sat in the corner of the room.

XXX

"Thank you so much for coming." Piper said when she answered the door.

Camille stepped over the threshold. "I just came to get my clothes I left here the other night." She said, clutching her bag to her side as she looked around the house as if something was going to pop out at her.

Piper shut the front door, turning back to the blonde that stood before her. "I think they're still in my bedroom."

Cami nodded, following her into the back of the house, entering the all too familiar room.

Piper stood next to the easel as she watched Camille go about the room, picking up her discarded clothes from past 'sleepovers'. She cleared her throat, trying to get the taller woman's attention.

Camille looked up and over at Piper when her eyes caught what was written on a canvas that sat on the easel. _'Let me draw you.'_

Piper fidgeted slightly before realizing how stupid she was being and plastered on her stereotypical smile, one that she had learned from an early age to fabricate.

"Are you serious?" Cami asked excitement clear in her voice.

Piper nodded, uncrossing her arms and letting them hang at her waist.

"Okay." The taller blonde said, smiling nervously.

"Just sit on the bed; I'd like to just start with the face."

XXX

_Piper was sitting in the middle of her art studio when she heard the door shut, the thud echoing throughout the large open space._

_ Piper didn't bother to greet her girlfriend, knowing that she had a busy day at work, just as she herself had been suffering from artist's block all day._

_ She heard the deep resonated sigh of Alex as the brunette entered her periphery, flopping down onto the couch near where she sat._

_ The blonde spun on her stool, facing the taller woman as she thought of a conversation starter. "How was your day?"_

_ Alex shook her head, covering her eyes with her forearm as she rested it over her head in complete exhaustion. "Where do I begin? Paulo lost the shipment that was meant to be sent to Peru and Fahri was on my ass about it because I was the one who recruited the fucking Italian bastard when I was over in Barcelona."_

_ Piper slipped off of her stool, walking over to the couch and sat perched on the arm near Alex's feet. She listened to her girlfriend talk, before speaking up. "I've got an idea to take your mind off of it."_

_ Alex raised a brow, "Oh yeah? Does it involve sex?"_

_ Piper smirked, "If you're a good sport about it."_

_ "About what?"_

_ Piper moved so she was straddling Alex's hips, "Let me draw you like one of my French girls."_

_ "Alright Jack Dawson, I wasn't aware that I was the girl in this scenario."_

_ Piper dug her nails into the skin that was visible where the brunette's shirt had ridden up slightly, "Behave."_

_ Alex looked up at her, eyes bright with admiration. "Have I told you yet today how much I love you?" she asked._

_ Piper climbed off of her, "Nope, but I intend to make you scream it multiple times _after _I'm done drawing you."_

XXX

"Wow." Camille breathed as she looked at the painting. "Piper, this is gorgeous!" She looked up at the blonde who was sitting perched on her stool, awkwardly playing with the sleeve of her flannel.

"Thanks." She said, unsure of what else to say.

"So what does this all mean? You never wanted to paint me before, said you didn't paint anyone."

Piper shrugged, "I guess I have a lot to make up for and I'm starting simple."

Cami nodded slowly, still not fully understanding the entirety of what the shorter woman wasn't saying.

Piper took a deep breath, she hadn't done this in years, and it felt so stupid now as she let the words fall from her lips. "Camille, will you be my girlfriend?"

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! I know, before you start pelting me with rotten fruit and vegetables, let me just tell you that I think I have finally figured out the entire plot from here on out. There will be roughly fifteen chapters, the last three being a form of an epilogue. Now for this chapter, I didn't want things to begin moving just yet for Vauseman; after all we still have ten more chapters to go so we need to be working at a snail's pace for now. As for Camille, well can we really say that we hate her? After all she's just a dumb girl in love, haven't we all been that person at one point? So now that I am done defending myself, thanks to the people who have reviewed so far, keep it up, I'd love to see where you guys think I'm going with this. Until next time!**

**-Marissa**


	6. Where Art Thou the Sun?

"I told myself I won't miss you

But I remember

What it feels like beside you

I really miss your hair in my face

And the way your innocence tastes

And I think you should know this

You deserve much better than me."

-'Better Than Me' by Hinder

XXX

Piper woke to an arm tightly wrapped around her waist, and for a split second the girl that lay behind her was Alex, the woman she actually wanted.

Piper closed her eyes, begging for sleep to put her back under so that she wouldn't think about what she had done the night before. She should have never asked Camille out, never should have slept in the same bed as her last night. Piper was feeling nauseous, could feel the bile bubbling in the bottom of her stomach as it thought about rising up her throat and burning her esophagus.

Camille cuddled closer, her warm breath tickling the hairs on the back of Piper's neck, making her feel claustrophobic and sick.

Piper quickly pulled herself away from her latest mistake, nearly slipping on the sheet that was half on the floor. She fixed her footing and left the room. What she needed was a nice hot shower and Jaimie's Black Cat blend.

XXX

Alex woke up with a head full of snot. She was feeling congested from all the crying she had done the night before after she had holed herself up in her room.

Nicky had surprisingly left her alone for the most part.

Alex decided that she was in much need of strong as fuck caffeine, leaving her no choice but to go to Jaimie's.

She entered the shop, looking around at the few people who were sat at tables considering it was around noon.

"What can I get you?" Jaimie asked, her head down as she rummaged beneath the counter for something.

"A large Black Cat would be great."

Jaimie stopped what she was doing, slowly rising to her feet as she took Alex in. She nodded, turning to make the coffee as Alex took a seat at the stool that was still pulled up to the register.

"Listen, I am so sorry about the other night." Jaimie said as she put the coffee in the pot to brew.

Alex shrugged; there wasn't anything the woman could say to make her feel better.

The bell that hung over the door rung, greeting yet another customer with a shrill ding, _"Fuck."_

Alex's ears perked up at the familiar voice, something that once resembled her favorite song that only reminded her now of nails on a chalkboard.

Alex should have suspected that this was a place that the blonde frequented, but it had easily slipped her mind.

Piper inched closer to the counter where Jaimie stood, eyes wide as if trying to replicate a deer in headlights. She was already here, may as well just go in for the kill, also she really needed caffeine to function.

"Black Cat today, Jaimie." She said, trying her hardest not to sound like she was struggling for air as she stared at the back of Alex's head.

"You're in my seat." She let slip from her lips, wanting to immediately punch herself in the face afterwards.

Alex looked up at her, brow raised, the mask back on unlike before when her heart was bare. Her skin, a makeshift armor to protect her from Piper's Bambi blues.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alex finally asked, appalled that the blonde even had the audacity to say anything to her after the previous night.

Piper wanted to curl into herself at that point, wishing for a way out of this already difficult situation before she had shoved her foot down her own throat.

Jaimie watched from her spot between the various coffee makers as she casually fidgeted with the bandana she had tied into her hair that morning. Her eyes widened when she saw who was next to come into her coffee shop.

Camille entered the shop with eagerness in her step. She quickly spotted Piper who was having a stare down with a stranger. "There you are! I figured you'd be here when I saw that you weren't in bed." She said, kissing Piper's cheek and wrapping her arm around the shorter woman's waist.

Alex's eyes shifted over to the newcomer, the taller blonde that she had seen Piper arguing with a few nights back. She could remember the woman breaking up with her ex, crying even as she fled the scene. How fucked the situation was that she was currently witnessing.

As if the situation couldn't get any worse, a voice rung out behind them. "I'm quite offended that I wasn't invited to this reunion."

They all turned, taking in a much shorter red head with a wide face-cracking grin that was beginning to falter as she looked over at her best friend and seeing the hurt that was surfacing in her eyes.

XXX

Nicky quickly grabbed Alex and made an excuse that they had to meet someone for lunch so they had to get going.

"What the fuck was going on back there?" She asked as soon as the door to the shop had closed and they started walking down the storefront.

Alex stared at her feet, still trying to wrap her head around the fact of what she had just witnessed. Piper was back together with, Camille was it? She shook her head, were they dating? It made Alex all the more confused to think that the bed that she had slept in not even two days ago was already occupied by another.

Nicky softly nudged the brunette, "Dude, seriously, what the hell was going on?"

"I ran into Piper when I was out with Jaimie."

The red head's brows rose, "Is that why you didn't come home until the next morning? Did you two?"

Alex flinched at the question; of course they hadn't slept together. "No, I was too drunk and I didn't have my key, I didn't want to wake you so I spent the night at her house."

"Wow, you're really throwing me through a loop here, Vause."

Nicky took Alex's elbow and changed their route, heading towards a small diner that was across the street.

"Where are we going, Nick?" Alex asked, confused.

"I really do have a lunch date with an old friend, plus you're coming because you need some comfort food."

XXX

Sat in a corner booth was a short stocky woman with a tattoo running up the length of her forearm that read 'Butch'. She had short slicked back black hair, little eye liner, and a look that could kill.

"Alex this is Lea, she's my old friend from back in the day. Lea, this is Alex, my prison buddy." Nicky introduced.

Lea nodded, holding out her hand to shake.

Alex took her hand, shaking it before taking a seat across from her.

Nicky slid in next to Alex, "So Lea, how's the comedy world?"

XXX

"Hey Lea, you know any girls around here that you could hook up with Alex here? She's trying to get over her ex, Chapman." Nicky said as they were leaving the diner.

Lea thought for a minute, "Yeah, I'm gonna be in town for a couple days, I'm here to buy some paintings from a Chapman. Piper Chapman actually, which funny story, I know her family. Last I heard from her brother Cal, says they're coming up this weekend."

Alex's eyes widened. The Chapman's were coming up to Vermont?

Lea shrugged, "Anyways, I'm headed over to her place tomorrow to talk prices. I do have this girl's number though, her name's Juliet, real nice girl but she's a little young for my taste."

Nicky raised a brow, taking the outstretched phone number and handing it to Alex. "Thanks Lea, we will definitely get together again before you head back to New York."

XXX

"You better call her, Vause." Nicky said from her spot on the couch.

"I'm fine Nicky; I don't need to go on a date with some girl half my age to feel better about myself."

The red head looked up at her with a quizzical look before rolling her eyes, "Don't BS a BSer."

"Ugh, fine. I'll call her, but don't expect her to say yes to a date with someone she has never met."

XXX

Piper sat with Jaimie in her living room, both lying on the carpeted floor and staring up through the sky light.

Jaimie's little sister, who was 35, came running into the room when her phone went off where it was plugged into the wall.

"Yes, this is Juliet."

XXX

**AN: So how about that for a cliff hanger? Were any of you shocked? Still mad that Piper just randomly decided to ask Camille out? Let me know, along with what you thought of this chapter! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter! I love you guys, until next time!**

**-Marissa**


	7. My Gardener Don't

"Every time I close my eyes

It's like a dark paradise

No one compares to you

I'm scared that you

Won't be waiting on the other side

Every time I close my eyes

It's like a dark paradise

No one compares to you

I'm scared that you

Won't be waiting on the other side."

-'Dark Paradise' by Lana Del Rey

XXX

"I'll be back in a couple days." Camille said as she lifted her bag onto her shoulder.

Piper walked her out to her SUV. She knew as the role of girlfriend she was supposed to be upset with a sudden urgency for Cami to be in New York City, but she just simply wasn't.

"When will you be back?" Piper asked. Camille had already told her this, but it was while Piper still had her head between the blonde's thighs.

"I'll be back the day before Thanksgiving."

That was next Thursday. Piper nodded, more than happy to have some stress lifted off of her back for the moment.

XXX

Lea Delaria soon after called to say that she would be at the house in half an hour, just as Jaimie showed up on her doorstep.

"What are you doing here? You know I have a buyer coming up today!" Piper stressed to her friend.

The brunette nodded, pushing past her as she walked into the bungalow. "Remember how my sister got that freak call last night?"

Piper felt like her head was going to explode, "Yeah, and? This better be important."

Jaimie nodded once more, "She has a date, with a girl named Alex."

Piper swallowed, "There's a lot of girls named Alex."

"Yes, but there's only one in this town."

There was a pause in the conversation before Jaimie spoke up again. "Just give me the word and I'll make sure Juliet cancels."

Piper quickly shook her head, "No, I'm dating Camille. It's none of my business who Alex dates, even if it's your little sister."

Jaimie flopped down onto the couch, "You're right, nothing to worry about." She watched the blonde warily, "They'll probably just end up fuck buddies anyway."

Piper shut her eyes briefly before hearing a knock at the door. Her eyes flicked open, "You've got to go." She said to the brunette who was lounging on her couch.

"Where do you want me to go? They're at the door, and I'm not climbing out a window."

Piper nearly growled, "Then go wait in my bedroom until they're gone."

Once the living room was free of the living, Piper answered the door to come face to face with not only Lea Delaria, but Nicky Nichols as well.

Lea stuck out her hand, shaking Piper's. "Sorry, figured it would do her some good to be cultured." She said, jutting her thumb over at the red head who was trying to peak over Piper's shoulder into the house.

Piper let them in, knowing right away that Nicky wasn't there for an art lesson. She was snooping around the living room, looking for anything to hold against her, but she didn't know about the photos she had hidden in her underwear drawer.

Piper rolled her eyes at Nicky's shenanigans, before looking over at Lea who was also peering over at Nicky, brow raised.

The blonde cleared her throat, "I keep my paintings in a back room. Right this way."

Nicky branched off of the follow the leader tour, and found Jaimie lying across Piper's bed half asleep. "You better not be sleeping with her too."

Jaimie sat up abruptly, "Never! I have _some_ respect for myself."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I love Piper strictly as a friend, but the girl gets around."

"Really?" It was hard for Nicky to picture Piper as a womanizer in any way, shape, or form.

XXX

Once Piper was finally able to get Lea to buy one of her pieces, she told her that Nicky would find her own way home.

She found the two women talking in her room. "What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"" She asked the red head tiredly.

Nicky stood up to face her, "Trying to find out whether I should call a gardener considering you have your head planted so far up your ass."

Jaimie giggled from her spot on the mattress.

Piper glared down at her.

"What? She's funny!" Jaimie defended.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I'm tired and I would like to sleep for the rest of my freedom."

Nicky looked over at Jaimie questioningly.

"Camille is out of town until next week."

Nicky nodded her head in understanding before screwing her face up in confusion, "Why the fuck are you with Abercrombie and Bitch? You're the bitch by the way."

Piper rolled her eyes once more at the half-assed insult. "Come on Nick, I know you can do better than that."

"Yeah, I could hit you and knock your teeth down your throat, but I'm a lover not a fighter."

"But let me guess, you'll fight for what you love?" Piper mocked.

Nicky shook her head, "I guess it's true what they say, you can take the wasp out of the nest, but it's still a wasp."

Piper watched as Nicky began to leave the room, "Have fun with the nest tomorrow! Also, you might want to put your old flame valuables in somewhere other than your panty drawer."

XXX

Alex checked her appearance in the mirror for the umpteenth time. How was she nervous? She guessed it was true what prison does to you, it breaks and then changes you.

Nicky still wasn't home; Alex just figured that meant she was just out with Lea again.

"You look nice, Vause."

Alex jumped at the new voice that was suddenly in the room. She turned around to look at the red head who was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed and a small smile on her face.

"Where've you been?" Alex asked.

"Gee, nice to see you too."

Alex waited for an answer.

"Don't worry about it." Nicky calmly said, pushing off of the door jam and coming further into the room, taking the liberty of flopping onto the newly made bed.

"Which means I should worry about it." Alex said with a raised brow.

Nicky rolled her eyes, "Seriously Vause, if you are so inclined to know about how I spent my day, we can talk about it _after _you get laid tonight."

"I'm not sleeping with her; we're just going to dinner."

"That is until you've both had too much to drink."

The brunette shook her head, "I'm off of alcohol after last time. I'm not so sure of when I'll be drinking again."

Nicky shrugged, "Either way, we'll talk when you get home."

XXX

Alex took slow steady steps into the small restaurant. She was given a brief description of what this Juliet girl looked like. She had an olive tone complexion, a platinum pixie cut, and was going to be wearing a crimson halter top with leather pants and lace up wedges.

She found her quite easily, sitting in a small booth near the windows.

Juliet looked up when she felt someone come up to the table. Smiling brightly she looked up to see a towering brunette standing awkwardly in front of her.

"I'm Alex." She said, not entirely sure why she was even there. She should have never listened to Nicky.

Juliet motioned for Alex to sit across from her. "Hello Alex, I'm Juliet."

XXX

Alex walked Juliet to her car after they had their dinner. It was very chivalrous of her, something she couldn't even recognize herself doing if the only thing she wasn't worrying about at the moment was putting one foot in front of the other so she didn't trip. Why was she wearing heels again? She was tall enough as it is, and this Juliet girl didn't exceed 5'4''.

They reached a red pickup that was parked by the curb. Alex could probably guess what her favorite color was.

"I had a great time, Alex." Juliet said.

There was enough room between them for another person to stand, which was something new for Alex. She kind of liked it.

"Me too." Alex said. She wasn't exactly sure if she liked the girl, but she sure wasn't Piper. She was everything Piper wasn't and Alex knew that she should give this a shot, but at the same time the all too familiar blonde's face was nagging at the back of her mind.

"So, I'll be seeing you again?" Juliet asked as she played with her car keys.

Alex smiled lightly. Would she be? Was Alex going to give this girl a shot?

"Yes, I'll call you."

The shorter woman grinned, "And I will answer."

Alex then watched as Juliet leaned in, pecking Alex on the cheek before turning and climbing into the driver's seat of her truck.

Alex shut the door for her and waved before turning on her heel and beginning the short walk back to her and Nicky's house.

XXX

Piper was lying on Jaimie's couch, her feet propped up in her said friend's lap when they heard the front door open and close.

Juliet came through the door and threw herself into the armchair across from the two women, letting out a sigh of contempt as she grinned stupidly from ear to ear.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Jaimie asked her.

Juliet didn't know who Alex was past what the woman had told her that night. Alex had put it all out on the table, that she was in prison for being involved in a heroin drug empire and that she was one of the people that ran things. Juliet did not know about the inevitable ex that was forever stuck in her life like a hemorrhoid that was sitting across from her though.

"The date was perfect. She was so down to earth and just so honest about everything. She answered every single one of my questions, and she didn't expect anything in return, and to top it all off she is _so fucking hot_!"

Jaimie looked over at Piper.

Piper cleared her throat, "So what did you guys talk about?"

Jaimie raised a brow as Piper shrugged. She really wanted to know what Alex was doing differently. All of what Juliet had just said sounded nothing like her ex.

Juliet untied her shoes and let them drop to the floor with a thud. "Well she told me right off of the bat that she used to be in prison, she even went as far as to tell me what she was in there for. Apparently she was one of the higher ups in a drug cartel that sold heroine."

Piper's mouth gaped open. Alex, _her_ Alex (she really needed to stop referring to her as such in her head), was actually telling someone the truth for once? Not that she was ever really a liar, but she had never gone out of her way to put herself on the line for someone she had just met.

Juliet shrugged, "Anyways, she lives here in town with her best friend Nicky who is also an ex-convict. I just love how honest she was with me, you know? There's not much of that around these days."

Piper nodded, biting on the inside of her cheek until she could taste copper. "I have to go."

Jaimie watched as Piper clambered up and off of the couch, heading towards the door and slipping on her jacket and shoes, shutting the door quickly behind her.

XXX

"Wait, so let me get this straight, you first tell this girl who you have just met that you were in prison and even told her what you did, all while conveniently leaving Chapman out of it. Then you don't even kiss her goodnight?"

Alex shrugged, "I want to take things slow, Nick. That was the problem with Piper, everything always happened so fast." _But maybe that was the beauty of it. _ Alex batted away the thought.

Nicky smiled, "Good for you, Vause. I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but it seems like this is something that could be good for you."

Alex nodded, "I hope so."

XXX

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to update this, but I was trying to work on Control and I'm really struggling with it. So for those of you who have read it, I can't even begin to say how sorry I am for that. Anyways, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and if you guys are a fan of Juliet or not. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me this far and to those who have been reviewing all of the chapters. I love you guys, every time I see a favorite, follow, or review I have more faith in my writing. Until next time!**

**-Marissa**


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